Air conditioning



R. P. PERRY ETAL AIR CONDITIONING July 2, 1968 Original Filed Aug. 5,1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 8 S g "T 8 "+1 w v it 5 n a: M I T T-1w m L LINVENTOR ROBERTRPERRY wwzs M. FARRELL BY Mimfiqim Wad/ml? A'IT RNEYS y1968 R. P. PERRY ETAL 3,390,542

'AIR CONDITIONING Original Filed Aug. 6, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet, 2

INVENTOR ROBERT PERRY JAIME S M. FARRELL July 2, 1968 R. P. PERRY ETALAIR CONDITIONING 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Aug. 5, 1965 UnitedStates Patent 3,390,542 AIR CONDITIONING Robert P. Perry and James M.Farrell, Greenville, Mich,

assignors to Hupp Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation ofVirginia Continuation of application Ser. No. 477,432, Aug. 5, 1965.This application Dec. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 603,689 11 Claims. (Cl. 62-262)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A room air conditioner and front panelassembly having controllable openings and passages to permit selectiveoperation for normal cooling, for connecting essentially the entireoutput of the air conditioner blower to the outside atmosphere, toexhaust stale air from the room or for utilizing essentially the entireoutput of the blower to deliver outside fresh air into the room.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 477,432,filed Aug. 5, 1965, now abandoned, for Air Conditioning.

This invention relates to air conditioners and more particularly to airflow control structures for window air conditioners.

It has long been considered that the only function of an airconditioner, particularly a window unit, is the reduction of airtemperature and the resulting dehumidification of the air. Continuingefforts in the air conditioner industry have led to marked improvementsin the eificiency with which the cooling function is performed.Thermostats and other automatic controls are now universally provided topermit regulation of the air temperature.

Little progress has been made, however, in improving the performance ofair conditioners with respect to the other factors upon which thecomfort of the user depends.

Frequently, the result of operation of an air conditioner is to fill aroom with cooled stale odor laden air. If the room served by the airconditioner is occupied by smokers or is used for cooking or servingfood the air may become so oppressive that the advantages of the airconditioner are nullified and it becomes necessary to shut the airconditioner off and open windows or doors to obtain fresh air. Thus, itoften happens that an air conditioner, which is functioning properly andin the manner intended by the manufacturer, fails completely to provideany true degree of user comfort.

Many modern air conditioners include means for exhausting air andintroducing fresh air. However, all known prior efforts in thisdirection have been almost completely unsuccessful. Many, if not all,prior air conditioners are capable of producing a flow of exhaust air orfresh air up to a maximum of about 15% of the total air flow. Such aflow rate, is totally ineffective to produce the desired results.

There are many circumstances under which artificial cooling of the airis not required, and ventilation, i.e., the exhaust of stale air or thesupply of fresh air is adequate to meet comfort requirements. Under suchconditions a window fan would satisfactorily meet the need for airconditioning. However, prior air conditioners are ineffective under suchconditions unless they are used in the normal manner to artificiallycool the 3,398,542 Patented July 2, 1968 air since they provide atotally inadequate flow of fresh air or exhaust air.

Further, prior air conditioners provide little or no effective controlof dehumidification.

With the foregoing considerations in mind, it is a principal purpose andobject of the present invention to provide improved air conditionersovercoming these disadvantages and providing true comfort controlprincipally by providing for an effective supply of fresh air, foreffectively exhausting stale air, and an effective dehumidificationcontrol system.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved airconditioners which satisfy the foregoing requirements without theaddition of moving parts and without increasing the cost of the unit.

It is also an object to provide improved air conditioners including anovel air flow control system which permits the use of the airconditioner as a reversible window fan and which provides substantiallythe same flow of fresh air or exhaust air as delivered when the airconditioner is used in the normal manner for cooling.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide improved frontpanels for air conditioners including a novel dehumidification control,the panels being effective to seal the air conditioner during periods ofnon-use while enhancing the appearance of the unit during such periods.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent as thedescription proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a window air conditioner incorporating thepresent invention showing the air control louvers and panels in closedposition;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the air controllouvers and panels in fully open position;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal section taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE1;

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view corresponding to a horizontal sectionillustrating the internal air flow pattern; and

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view corresponding to a vertical section alsoillustrating the air flow pattern.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, detailed reference willfirst be made to the air conditioner front panel illustrated in FIGURES1-4. The panel assembly which is preferably formed entirely of plasticincludes a generally rectangular frame having top, bottom and end walls20, 22, 24 and 26, respectively. The walls are provided with re-entrantportions a-26a which enhance the appearance of the unit, increase itsstrength and provide surfaces for mounting the louvers and panels to bedescribed below.

A wall 28 extends horizontally between the end walls 24 and 26 to dividethe front panel into an upper air outlet section and a lower air inletsection. The upper air outlet section is, in turn, vertically bisectedby a channel shaped -wall 30 connecting the top wall 20 and thehorizontal divider wall 28. The flow of air through the outlet sectionis controlled by sets of louvers 32 and 34 ivotally mounted at theiropposite ends on pins 36 and 38 rotatively supported in openingsprovided in the re-entrant wall portions 24a and 26a, respectively. The

louvers 32 and 34 are connected at their inner ends by integral rods 40received in notches 41 of the side walls of the vertical wall 30. Aretainer 43 closes the inner edges of channel wall 30 and holds the rods40 in position. Formed integrally with each of the connecting rods 40 isa gear segment 42, each of the gear segments being engageable with arack 44 vertically slidable in the divider wall 30. An operating knob 46projects forwardly through a slot 48 in the wall 30 to permit manualmanipulation of the rack 44 to adjust all of the louvers 32 and 34simultaneously between the full closed position shown in FIGURE 1 andthe fully open position shown in FIGURE 2. As shown in FIGURE 4 theedges of the louvers overlap when they are in closed position to providea tight closure for the entire air outlet section.

The air inlet section is formed by a plurality of fixed horizontallouvers 50 which extend completely across the air conditioner betweenthe side walls 24 and 26 except where they are interrupted by a controlpanel section indicated generally at 52. To add rigidity to thestructure, the louvers 50 are connected by vertical reinforcing strips54 spaced at regular intervals along the length of the louvers 50. Thecontrol panel includes a temperature control knob 58, a master controlknob 60, which may be used to operate the blowers with or without thecompressor, a fresh air control knob 62 and an exhaust air control knob64, the operation of which will be described below.

The fiow of air into the air intake section is controlled by a uniquemechanism comprising three slidable panels 66, 68 and 70, which arepreferably formed of relatively light sheet metal and are provided witha decorative front cover, for example, a wood grained design. The panelsare mounted in upper and lower slide guides 72 and 74, respectively,suitably secured to the horizontal divider wall 28 and the bottom wall22. The slide guides 72 and 74 are provided with three tracks, 76, 78and 88, the edges of panel 66 being received in the front tracks 80; theedges of intermediate panel 68 being received in the intermediate tracks78; and the edges of end panel 70 being received in the inner tracks'76. At its left edge as viewed in FIGURE 1, the end panel 66 isprovided with an outwardly projecting ridge 82 to facilitate manualmanipulation of the panel. The end panel 70 is provided with a somewhatlonger projection 84 for the same purpose. The right-hand edge of thepanel 66, both edges of the intermediate panel 68 and the left-hand edgeof the end panel 70 are provided with re-entrant curved positions 86,87, 88 and 89, which interfit when the panels are moved to theirextended position as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3. The adjustability of thepanels 66, 68 and 70, is such that they may be used effectively toestablish a variety of operating conditions.

For example, during the winter months or during other periods ofnon-use, the panels are moved to the position shown on FIGURES 1 and 3,in which they provide a relatively air tight seal, protect the controlpanel 52, and enhance the appearance of the unit. As described belowthis position is also used when a supply of fresh air is required. Thepanels are moved to the fully open position shown in FIGURE 2 when themaximum cooling is desired. For increased dehumidification as explainedbelow the panel 70 is moved beneath the panel 68 so as to block asubstantial portion of the air inlet opening.

As shown in FIGURES and 6, the air conditioner unit, on which the frontpanel of FIGURES 1-4 is installed, comprises the usual housing 90enclosing a compressor 92, an evaporator coil 94, a condenser coil 96, amotor 98 driving a blower 100 associated with the condenser coil and ablower 102 associated with the evaporator coil. The compressor, theevaporator and the condenser are inter-connected in the usual manner bya conduit system which has been omitted for clarity.

As is well known, when the air conditioner is in operation on thecooling cycle, the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 92delivered to the condenser 96 for cooling and then passes through acapillary tube or expansion valve (not shown) to the evaporator 94 fromwhich it returns to the inlet side of the compressor 92.

The condenser 96 is isolated from the remainder of the air conditionerby a vertical wall 104 having an inlet opening 106 adjacent the blower100. The evaporator compartment 94 is separated from the compressor andthe condenser by a vertical wall 108. Extending from the wall 108 to thefront of the air conditioner over the top of the evaporator coil 94 andat the level of the front panel divider wall 28 is a horizontal wall 110having an opening 112 for the passage of air delivered by the blower102. The evaporator compartment is completed by a vertical wall 114extending from the bottom of the unit to the divider wall 110 andbetween the wall 108 and the front edge of the evaporator 94.

An exhaust air door 118 normally closes an opening 120 in the portion ofthe wall 108 immediately adjacent the outlet of blower 102. The door 118is in the form of a hood which is effective to intercept substantiallyall of the air delivered by the blower 102. The opening 120 and the door118 may also be located anywhere in the wall 108 above the divider 110.A fresh air door 122 normally closes an opening 124 in the portion ofthe wall 108 below the horizontal wall 110. The opening 124 is coveredby a removable filter 125. The openings 120 and 124 are suificientlylarge to accommodate without substantial restriction the total flow ofair produced by the blower 102. The doors 118 and 122 are connected in aconventional manner for operation by the controls 64 and 62,respectively.

The operation of the air conditioner will now be considered assumingfirst that maximum cooling is desired. Under these conditions the frontpanel will be adjusted to the position shown in FIGURE 2 for maximumopening in both the air inlet section and the air outlet section. Thecontrols 62 and 64 will be adjusted so as to close the doors 118 and122. Under these conditions the blower 102 will draw air inwardlythrough the air inlet section of the front panel over the evaporator 94thence through the opening 112 in the wall 110 for return to the roomthrough the air outlet section formed by the louvers 32 and 34.Simultaneously the blower 100 will draw air in through louvers (notshown) in the side walls of the air conditioner housing 90 at theopposite ends of the passage formed between the two vertical walls 104and 108. The air will pass through the opening 106 flow over thecondenser 96 and return to the outside atmosphere.

Frequently, dehumidification is more important than temperaturereduction. For example, on many damp Spring and Fall days whentemperatures are pleasant, complete comfort may be obtained simply bydehumidifying the air without substantial cooling. This result may beobtained by moving the panel 68 to its fully extended position as shownin FIGURE 1 and sliding the panel 70 to a position behind the panel 68.In this position the panels effectively block flow over approximately50% of the area of the evaporator coil. The resulting reduced flow ofair produces a substantial dehumidification while reducing the totalcooling effect by increasing the proportion of latent heat removed fromthe air.

Under the frequently encountered conditions under which only ventilationis necessary, the unit may be adjusted so that the flow of air issuingfrom the outlet section consists entirely of fresh air from the outsideatmosphere or so that no air issues from the unit and substantially thefull capacity of the blower 102 is utilized to draw air through theinlet section and deliver it to the outside atmosphere.

When a supply of fresh air is desired, panels 66, 68 and 70, are movedto the position of FIGURE 1 to tightly close the entire air intakesection. The louvers 32 and 34 are moved to the open position shown inFIGURE 2. The control knob 62 is moved to open the door 122 and theblower control 60 is moved to a position which causes operation of theblower 102 without causing operation of the compressor 92. When the unitis adjusted in this manner the air flow to the inlet of the blower 102is blocked except for the passage through the opening 124 opposite thefresh air door 122. Because of the large size of this opening, theblower 102 is capable of moving substantially the same volume of air asit does when the air conditioner is operated in a normal cooling cyclewith the panels 66, 68 and 70 open. The air passes from the blower andthrough the opening 112 to the region above the horizontal partition 110for delivery to the room through the open louvers 32 and 34. Thus,fresh, filtered air is supplied to the room at a rate which is manytimes that achieved by prior units.

When it is desired to exhaust stale or smoke laden air from the room,the front panels 66, 68 and 70, are moved to the position shown inFIGURE 2 to fully open the air intake section of the unit. The louvers32 and 34 are moved to the closed position shown in FIGURE 1 thuscompletely blocking the flow of air into the room. Fresh air door 122 isclosed by operation of the control knob 62 and the exhaust door 118 isopen by operation of the control knob 64. Blower 102 is then placed inoperation by the control knob 60 without causing operation of thecompressor 92. Under these circumstances air can flow out of the unitonly through the open door 118 which is large enough to accommodate,without substantial restriction, the normal rated fiow capacity of theblower 102.

It is to be noted that the controls 62 and 64 are effective to move thedoors 118 and 122 to any intermediate position between full open andfull closed position. Similarly, the arrangement of the panels 66, 68and 70, is such that the effective size of the air inlet section can beadjusted to any position between full closed and full open. Also, thelouvers 32 and 34 are completely adjustable between full open and fullclosed positions. Accordingly, by proper operation of these controls,the air conditioner can be adjusted so as to produce substantially anydesired degree of cooling, dehumidification, fresh air supply, orexhaust and in this respect the unit of the present invention has adegree of flexibility of operation not approached by the units of theprior art.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore to be considered inall respects as illustrativeand not restrictice, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An air conditioner unit adapted to project through a window or likeopening in a wall of a room to dispose the front portion thereof withinsaid room and the rear portion thereof outside said room and having amotor driven blower comprising a front panel assembly covering the frontportion of said air conditioner within the room, said panel assemblyhaving an air inlet section and an air outlet section, means forselectively closing and opening each of said sections independently,duct structure within said air conditioner for connecting the inlet ofsaid blower to said air inlet section and the outlet of said blower tosaid air outlet section, first passage means for connecting the inlet ofsaid blower to the outside atmosphere, second passage means forconnecting the outlet of said blower to the outside atmosphere, means insaid front portion operable to open and close each of said passage meanswhereby when said air inlet section and said second passage means areclosed, and said air outlet section and said first passage means areopen, the

blower supplies only air from the outside atmosphere into said room, andwhen said air inlet section and said second passage means are open, andsaid air outlet section and said first passage means are closed, all ofthe air moved by said blower is withdrawn from said room through saidair inlet section and delivered to the outside atmosphere through saidsecond passage means.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1 wherein said means forselectively opening and closing said air outlet section comprises aplurality of louvers pivotally carried by said front panel assembly, andmeans for simultaneously pivoting each of said louvers between positionsin which they are normal to the plane of said front panel assembly andin which they are essentially co-planar with said front panel assembly.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 1 wherein the means forselectively closing and opening said air inlet section comprises aplurality of panels slidably carried by said front panel assembly, theaggregate area of said slidable panels being at least equal to the areaof said air inlet section, and said panels being slidable one beneaththe other to open said air inlet section.

4. An air conditioner unit adapted to project through a window or likeopening in the wall of the room to dispose the front portion thereofwithin said room and the rear portion thereof outside of said roomcomprising, an evaporator coil extending across a portion of the frontof said unit, the height of said coil being substantially less than theheight of said unit, a motor driven blower adjacent said evaporatorcoil, a condenser coil extending across the rear of said unit, acompressor between said coils and operatively connected to said coils, avertical wall extending the full height of said unit to isolate saidblower and said evaporator coil from the compressor, the condenser andthe outside atmosphere, a horizontal wall extending from said verticalwall to the front of said unit immediately above said evaporator coiland said blower, means forming an opening in said horizontal wall topermit the passage of air delivered by said blower therethrough, a frontpanel assembly covering the front of said unit, said panel assemblyhaving an air inlet section and an air outlet section, said sectionsbeing disposed below and above said horizontal wall, respectively, meansfor selectively closing and opening each of said sections, means forminga fresh air opening in said vertical wall below said horizontal wall, afresh air door for selectively opening and closing said fresh airopening, means forming an exhaust air opening in said vertical walladjacent the delivery side of said blower, an exhaust air door forselectively opening and closing said exhaust air opening, and means .onsaid front portion operable to open and close each of said doors,whereby said unit may be so adjusted that said blower draws air throughsaid air inlet section and delivers it through said air outlet sectionor air exhaust opening, or said blower draws air through said fresh airopening for delivery through said air outlet section.

5. A front panel assembly for an air conditioner unit comprising aperipheral frame having top, bottom and end walls, a divider extendingacross said panel assembly between said end walls to divide said panelassembly into an upper air outlet section and a lower air inlet section,a plurality of louvers pivotally carried by said panel assembly andextending across said air outlet section, means for simultaneouslypivoting said louvers between an open position in which said louvers arenormal to the plane of said panel assembly, and a closed position inwhich said louvers are essentially co-planar with said panel assembly, aplurality of movable panels carried by said front panel assembly belowsaid divider for sliding movement transversely of said front panelassembly, said movable panels being positioned in offset relationwhereby they may be moved to a stacked position one behind the other orto an extended position where they completely close said air inletsection.

6. The front panel assembly according to claim wherein the adjacentedges .of said movable panels are provided with curved re-entrantportions adapted to interfit when the panels are moved to their extendedposition.

7. An air conditioner unit adapted to project through a window or likeopening in the wall of a room to dispose the front portion thereofwithin said room and the rear portion thereof outside of said roomcomprising, an evaporator coil extending across a portion of the frontof said unit, the height of said coil being substantially less than theheight of said unit, a motor driven blower adjacent said evaporatorcoil, a condenser coil extending across the rear of said unit, acompressor between said coils and operatively connected to said coils, avertical wall extending the full height of said unit to isolate saidblower and said evaporator coil from the compressor, the condenser andthe outside atmosphere, a horizontal wall extending from said verticalwall to the front of said unit immediately above said evaporator coiland said blower, means forming an opening in said horizontal wall topermit the passage of air delivered by said blower therethrough, a frontpanel assembly covering the front of said unit, said panel assemblyhaving an air inlet section and an air outlet section, said sectionsbeing disposed below and above said horizontal wall, respectively, meansfor selectively closing and opening at least said inlet section, meansforming a fresh air opening in said vertical wall below said horizontalwall, a fresh air door for selectively opening and closing said freshair opening, and means on said front portion operable to open and closesaid door whereby when said air inlet section is closed and said door is.open said blower draws air solely through said fresh air opening fordelivery through said air outlet section.

8. An air conditioner unit adapted to project through a window or likeopening in the wall of a room to dispose the front portion thereofwithin said room and the rear portion thereof outside of said roomcomprising, an evaporator coil extending across a portion of the frontof said unit, the height of said coil being substantially less than theheight of said unit, a motor driven blower adjacent said evaporatorcoil, a condenser coil extending across the rear of said unit, acompressor between said coils and operatively connected to said coils, avertical wall extending the full height of said unit to isolate saidblower and said evaporator coil from the compressor, the condenser andthe outside atmosphere, a horizontal wall extending from said verticalwall to the front of said unit immediately above said evaporator coiland said blower, means forming an opening in said horizontal wall topermit the passage of air delivered by said blower therethrough, a frontpanel assembly covering the front of said unit, said panel assemblyhaving an air inlet section and an air outlet section, said sectionsbeing disposed below and above said horizontal wall, respectively, meansfor selectively closing and opening at least said outlet section, meansforming an exhaust air opening in said vertical wall adjacent thedelivery side of said blower, an exhaust air door for selectivelyopening and closing said exhaust air opening, and means on said frontportion operable to open and close said door, whereby when said door isopen and said air outlet section is closed said blower draws air throughsaid air inlet section and delivers it through said air exhaust opening.

9. An air conditioner unit adapted to project through a window or likeopening in a wall of a room and having a motor driven blower comprising,a front panel assembly covering the front portion of said airconditioner within the room, said panel assembly having an air inletsection and an air outlet section, means for selectively closing andopening each of said sections independently, duct structure within saidair conditioner for connecting the inlet of said blower to said airinlet section and the outlet of said blower to said air outlet section,first passage ill) means for connecting the inlet of said blower to theoutside atmosphere, said first passage means being sufficiently large toaccommodate, without substantial restriction, the total How of airproduced by said blower, second passage means connecting the outlet ofsaid blower to the outside atmosphere, said second passage means beingsufficiently large to accommodate, without substantial restriction, theentire output of said blower, means in said front portion operable toopen and close said first and second passage means independently wherebywhen said air inlet section and said second passage means are closed andsaid air outlet section and said first passage means are opened theblower supplies only air from the outside atmosphere into said room andwhen said air inlet section and said second passage means are open andsaid first passage means and said air outlet section are closed all ofthe air moved by said blower is withdrawn from said room through saidair inlet section and delivered to the outside atmosphere through saidsecond passage means.

10. An air conditioner unit adapted to project through a window or likeopening in the wall of a room to dispose the front portion thereofwithin said room and the rear portion thereof outside of said roomcomprising, a front panel assembly covering the front of said unit, saidpanel assembly having an air inlet section and an air outlet section, anevaporator coil extending across a portion of the front of said unitbehind one of said panel sections, a motor driven blower positioned toproduce a flow of air over said evaporator coil, a condenser coil in therear portion of said unit, a compressor operatively connected to saidcoils, a vertical wall extending the full height of said unit to isolatesaid blower and said evaporator coil from the compressor, the condenserand the outside atmosphere, an additional wall extending from saidvertical wall to the front of said unit and terminating at its forwardedge immediately adjacent the junction of said panel sections, meansforming an opening in said additional wall to permit the passage of airdelivered by said blower therethrough, means for selectively closing andopening at least said air inlet section, means forming a fresh airopening in said vertical wall, a fresh air door for selectively openingand closing said fresh air opening, and means on said front portionoperable to open and close said door whereby when said air inlet sectionis closed and said door is open said blower draws air solely throughsaid fresh air opening for delivery through said air outlet section.

11. An air conditioner unit adapted to project through a window or likeopening in the wall of a room to dispose the front portion thereofwithin said room and the rear portion thereof outside of said roomcomprising, a front panel assembly covering the front of said unit, saidpanel assembly having an air inlet section and an air outlet section,and evaporator coil extending across a portion of the front of said unitbehind one of said panel sections, a motor driven blower positioned toproduce a flow of air over said evaporator coil, a condenser coil in therear portion of said unit, a compressor operatively connected to saidcoils, a vertical Wall extending the full height of said unit to isolatesaid blower and said evaporator coil from the compressor, the condenserand the outside atmosphere, an additional wall extending from saidvertical wall to the front of said unit and terminating at its forwardedge immediately adjacent the junction of said panel sections, meansforming an opening in said horizontal wall to permit the passage of airdelivered by said blower therethrough, means for selectively closing andopening at least said air outlet section, means forming an exhaust airopening in said vertical wall adjacent the delivery side of said blower,an exhaust air door for selectively opening and closing said exhaust airopening, and means on said front portion operable to open and close saiddoor, whereby when said door is open and said air outlet section isclosed said blower draws air through said air inlet section and deliversit solely through said air exhaust opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Kuhlenschmidt 9894 Rose 62427Tatoy 62262 Metcalfe 62262 Ulich 62262 Schwartz 98-94 Schwarz 62262WILLIAM J. WYE, Primary Examiner.

